Cancer Man

Even though GoldenEye is often heralded as supposedly being Brosnan’s best outing and for reinvigorating the tired Bond franchise after it was given a relatively lengthy six year break, twelve years on I don’t think GoldenEye is necessarily Brosnan’s best instalment (that goes to Tomorrow Never Dies), and could reliably be deemed a very middle of the road Bond movie that is overrated.

Oh don’t get me wrong, Martin Campbell did a very good job of fooling many into thinking GoldenEye was a better movie than it actually is, raising the movie above it’s intrinsically mediocre screenplay. The screenplay for GE was better than Die Another Day’s screenplay, but it was miles behind the screenplay for Casino Royale, a movie more worthy of Martin Campbell (who also directed the hideously underrated No Escape).

The screenplay was patchy since I found GoldenEye’s overall storyline to be hopelessly vague, needlessly convoluted, and illogical even by Bond movie standards - it really does not improve on repeat viewing, unlike The World is Not Enough’s rather labyrinth plot that holds together better than GE’s fragmented, borderline nonsense. Tomorrow Never Dies’s storyline is better again by it’s relative simplicity, with fewer narrative moving parts locking together correctly with less plot holes (less can mean more; compare DW’s “Blink“ to “Last of the Time Lords“ for example).

And the villain, Alec Trevelyan 006, does not really make any sense if you think clearly about his staged fake death, his back story, him being a mastermind with unlimited resources pulled out of his backside, and his global extortion scheme (stealing billions from the Bank of England then rendering it worthless by crashing the global economy by knocking out London?). A corrupt and rather crazed billionaire starting a limited nuclear war for media ratings and expanding his corporate empire into China makes more sense I’m sad to say, and it was somewhat novel.

And Bond gets away with more nasty stuff as well - why didn’t he or MI6 answer for the killing of dozens of blameless Russians at a government building? Smashing up St. Petersburg with a stolen tank? Why does Bond go with MI6’s crazy scheme of directly destroying a strategic weapons manufacturing base deep inside Soviet territory in 1986, that would obviously provoke a dangerous international situation? Bond killed Russians before, but in self defence against knowing KGB operatives or renegade Red Army soldiers, and with comparatively restrained force in neutral territory (ie not presumably indirectly killing hundreds of civilian workers and scientists employed at the Arkhangelsk chemical plant that was detonated by MI6 bombs).

Am I alone with my opinions?

toddly6666

GoldenEye is my favorite Minnie Driver film...

starman9000

Maybe people just like the N64 game so much that they transfered positive feelings to the movie?

RichC2

Goldeneye wasn't the greatest Bond flicks, but I do think it was the best of the Brosnan films, due to the direction and locales (I wasn't a fan of the following 3 Brosnan outings including TND). But I think a good chunk of the praise is influenced by the N64 game.

Artman

I always thought it was the best directed... more style, and I liked the different music.

whoopdido

I was just going to say that.

That game was a huge hit and everybody loved it. I think one thing that people liked about the game (other than the multiplayer) was that the story and levels followed the movie pretty closely. So, they loved the game and noticed that the game was just like the movie so therefore they liked the movie too. Just a theory I guess.

MartinBlank

That was my first thought reading the original post.

Doughboy

I enjoyed GoldenEye when I saw it in the theater. I still think it's a damn good Bond flick and easily Brosnan's best(although that's not saying much).

I think the reason I like it so much is because it felt like it was written for Timothy Dalton, and I enjoyed his take on Bond.

RichC2

On a side note, and this is going in for most Bond flicks, it's the how and where of the events more so than the why in the series. A lot of the plotlines have been forgettable at best, but I tend to remember individual segments - action setpieces, visual cues, musical cues, villian, and what have you. Goldeneye produced the most memorable of the Brosnan era, imho, including a leg strangling villian, launching out of a helicopter, tank vs. city, sliding down the giant satellite dish, the usage of GoldenEye, the opening descent, etc; Whereas the others were a bit more forgettable (TWINE is completely forgotten, TND holds up okay, and DAD is remembered by how goofy it got).

But again, this is just imo.

Groucho

RichC2 has pretty much summed it up. People don't go to a Bond film looking for a great storyline. They go for the action sequences, the glamor, the exotic locations, the eccentric villains, the hot women, etc. GoldenEye had all of that in spades, plus it was tightly put together -- an entertaining film even if you have no familiarity with Bond.

Off the top of my head, if I were to put together a top 5 Bond films list, GoldenEye would easily make the cut:

1. From Russia with Love
2. Casino Royale (Craig, not Niven)
3. GoldenEye
4. Goldfinger
5. For Your Eyes Only

All the other Brosnan films were instantly forgettable.

UAIOE

RichC2 hit it on the head.

JPRaup

It's because of the N64 game.

mwbmis

Goldeneye is one of my favorite Bond films as well (probably fifth or sixth). Honestly, my only problem with it is that it is so 90s (especially the Judi Dench misogynist dinosaur speech and the way they play the Natalya character) that it is already dated in a way some of the other movies aren't.

Still, it has that tank chase, and, in my opinion, the coolest Bond pre credit sequence in the series.

Honestly, expecting the villian's scheme to make sense ignores pretty much every other film in the series.

wm lopez

How was FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE video game with Sean Connery doing the voice?

moonraker

Regarding the villain's scheme in GE: his main goal isn't to steal the money, but rather to take out revenge on England. The British government had turned his parents (Russian cossacks) back over to Russia after WWII, where they were killed for betrayal.

I like GE. It's not a top 5 Bond flick by any means, but it's in the top half. And a huge welcome after the disappointment of Dalton's tenure.

And I'm surprised by all the negative comments regarding Die Another Day. It has its share of flaws, but it's one of the most entertaining of the Bond films. Probably the most entertaining since Moonraker, to be truthful.

Groucho

It got mediocre reviews, and I've never played it -- but since it can be found very cheap nowadays I'm considering checking it out.

mwbmis

My biggest problem with the Die Another Day was the lousy CGI stunts. I think one of the best things about the Bond films is that for the most part the stunts that happen on screen were really taking place. Sure it wasn't the actors, but there were stuntmen who were really doing it. It made it ridiculous...and if I have to say it...ridiculous as the end of Moonraker (to be fair, I do like that movie more than most). Also, I really dislike Halle Berry in DAD. I could have probably lived with Jinx (even though they had just done the rival spy thing in TND), but I thought Halle Berry was awful. In contrast, I really did like Rosamund Pike and her Miranda Frost character. Finally, the Madonna cameo was just SO BAD that it took me completely out of the movie.

Of course, I really like both Dalton films so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

sauce07

I'm not gonna pretend like its great but I did enjoy it. playing with Connery Bond is alot of fun, especially when you put the white tuxedo on him. Check it out, you can find it for under $10 if you look around.

Michael Corvin

Wow. Hit the nail on the head for the Brosnan flicks. Although I enjoyed the motorcycle vs. helicopter chase in TND more than the tank in Goldeneye. On the whole, Goldeneye is more memorable.

I don't know if I buy the retro love angle, aka because of the game. The game came out two years after the movie. The movie was loved long before anyone played a second of the game.

DeanoBKN

It's my favorite Bond film, regardless of Goldeneye being one of my favorite video games of all time.

dadaluholla

Easily my favorite Bond movie...and I have NEVER played the video game.

UAIOE

During the pre-credits sequence there is a cut scene where they show a close up of Bond and it is spot on early 1960's Connery. In one of the interviews included with the game Connery is shown a picture of video of himself as Bond and he jokes "looks better than the original."

The game itself is not bad, but not great either. I think you'll get more joy out of it if you are a fan of the movie than if you aren't.

FRwL

Very enjoyable and had a vibrancy that was lacking with the prior dull John Glen Bonds

Brack

GoldenEye is probably the most memorable of the Brosnan Bond movies. You got the bungee jump, the baddie hottie with the killer legs, the bad computer geek who clicks his pens ("I am invincible!!!"), the tank chase sequence, the satellite gunfight, etc. It's one of the most visual, and allows the audience to appreciate what was on the screen with these cold, but fascinating, camera shots. It's been a while since I've seen it, and I'm impressed I remember all these details

Brack

And yes, GoldenEye for N64 was friggin' great.